Hearing loss due to extremely high decibel sound pressure levels (dB SPL) is a common occupational and safety concern. These explosive sounds can damage the stereocilia found in the organ of Corti, causing temporary or even permanent hearing loss. While hearing loss due to short bursts of high dB sound, commonly referred to as a temporary threshold shift, typically only lasts a few minutes, prolonged exposure to high dB sound can create temporary threshold shifts possibly lasting several days. Repeated exposure to explosive high dB sound can cause permanent threshold shifts, resulting in total hearing loss. Clearly workers exposed to such noise are at heightened risk for both short term and long term hearing loss, potentially rendering such workers unable to fulfill their occupational duties. What is needed are methods, systems, and/or devices minimizing or even eliminating the hearing risks such workers face in the fulfillment of their duties.